Ican’t say anything bad about this movie. Okay, it starts off a little slowly, but what period piece doesn’t? But it heats up quickly and I was glued to the screen till the last scene. The Exception is a story about little known Kaiser Whileim II, the last monarch of Germany, forced to abdicate and live in exile for 20 years while Hitler and the Third Reich blew up Germany and the rest of the world along with it. The movie is based on the historical fictional novel The Emperor’s Last Kiss, published in 2003 and written by Alan Jadd.

The Exception, which scored 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, is a beautifully-acted period-piece full of intrigue with incredibly sexy love scenes. The protagonist is an unlikely hero in the form of a wary German soldier played by Australian actor Jai Courtney (Divergent Series, Unbroken, Jack Reacher) and the heroine is played by British actor Lily James (Downton Abbey, Cinderella, Burnt). The ensemble includes the incomparable Christopher Plummer (The Last Station, The Girl withthe Dragon Tattoo, The Insider) as the very convincing exiled Kaiser who is hoping to be restored as emperor of the “Fatherland” by Hitler.

How many of you can go for a nice peaceful swim in the ocean all alone without at least pausing for a moment. Flat on your back, toes in the air, do you feel that slight momentary panic and look around, wondering what’s under the water with you? You may even roll your eyes, laugh at yourself and go back to enjoying your swim — momentarily. But then you hear that music in your head. Da dum, da dum, da dum. Suddenly your beating a hasty retreat to the safety of the beach. Thank Stephen Spielberg and let’s wish him a happy birthday. It was on this day in 1975 that Spielberg was born to a mother (and I mean a real muther) we all know as Jaws.

Jaws was truly lightning in a bottle. Nothing had ever been accomplished or seen like this film. The story of that muther, that great white shark, terrorizing a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster. It was the highest grossing movie in history until Star Wars bested it in 1977. And the film spawned a long line of sequels, but none that could equal the original.

The stroke of midnight is usually a ball killer for fairytale princesses, but the stroke of midnight tonight rings in a whole new celebration for our favorite pop-country music princess Taylor Swift. That’s right Swifties, the party begins at midnight tonight and we are all invited! Wait for it….Dong…… At midnight tonight, Taylor Swift is releasing her entire music catalog on Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, Amazon and other music streaming platforms!

“In celebration of 1989 selling over 10 Million Albums Worldwide and the RIAA’s 100 Million Song Certification announcement, Taylor wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalog available to all streaming services tonight at midnight.”

Taylor Swift has been leading a secret life this year. She has all but disappeared from public view since her pre-Super Bowl Concert in February. In fact, USAToday reported February 5 that the mega superstar said as much to the 9,000-person crowd in Houston that they were attending her only scheduled performances in 2017.

“As far as I know I’m only doing one show in 2017, and as far as I know, this is that show. By coming to this show tonight, you are attending 100% of this year’s tour dates,” Swift said.

But it’s more than that. The star seems to be living completely under the radar. The Washington Post stated it best in a report filed today.

Afterward [her February concert], her radio silence was immediate. No red carpets, no strolls down the streets of New York, no paparazzi photo shoots while leaving the gym. There was even a social media blackout, save for two Instagram posts to plug new singles from her friends Lorde and the band Haim. Swift was far off the grid, unusual for a superstar usually so thoroughly present in the public consciousness.

Jimmy Kimmel will be returning as host for the 2018 Oscars scheduled March 4 on ABC. This will be his second Oscars as host, and what a surprise, considering what happened in 2017. Even Kimmel predicted that it would be his last time hosting when he said, “This is my first time at the Oscars and the way you people go through hosts, it’s probably my last.” Not true Jimmy. You’re in! In spite of hosting what turned out to be the craziest Oscars night ever! Perhaps it was how he handled the night that made him a favorite for 2018.

Let’s recap 2017 for fun, shall we?

His opening joke toward Justin Timberlake wasn’t the funniest, but he got better. Especially in his monologue during which he gave a nod to two of the best picture nominees saying, “What a great year for movies. Black people saved NASA and white people saved jazz. That’s what they call progress.” He tweeted the President during the event and even brought a bus load of tourists from outside to meet and mingle with celebrities. And there were the cookies and candies that fell from the ceiling. That was a pretty good moment.

Robin Russell

Robin is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning journalist with 27 years experience. She hosted Georgia Outdoors on Georgia Public Broadcasting and was host and executive producer of Two Lane Traveller, which aired weekly nationwide on PBS. She has interviewed President Jimmy Carter, written speeches for Gov. Zell Miller, been published in Southern Living, Georgia Sportsman, Florida Game & Fish among other publications. Robin was educated at the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia.